Were Mike and Carol Both Widowers?

[Brian Damage]

I don't recall if they were divorced or were widowed?

[TJL]

I read somewhere that Carol was supposed to be divorced, but it was never mentioned.

[TJL]

"Schwartz wanted Carol to have been a divorcée. The network objected to this, but a compromise was reached whereby no mention was made of the circumstances in which Carol's first marriage ended, but many assume she was widowed."

[Brian Damage]

Originally Posted by TJL

"Schwartz wanted Carol to have been a divorcée. The network objected to this, but a compromise was reached whereby no mention was made of the circumstances in which Carol's first marriage ended, but many assume she was widowed."

Interesting, I always wondered what the heck happened to both Mike and Carol's first husband and wife. Thanks TJL!

[tv star collector]

According to TV Guide Guide to TV: "A widower with three sons marries
a widow with three daughters." The Complete Directory to Prime-Time
Network & Cable TV Shows also describes the show's premise involving "a
widow with three daughters who married a widower with three sons."

[sixfingers]

Originally Posted by tv star collector

According to TV Guide Guide to TV: "A widower with three sons marries
a widow with three daughters." The Complete Directory to Prime-Time
Network & Cable TV Shows also describes the show's premise involving "a
widow with three daughters who married a widower with three sons."

TV guide also claimed that Battlestar Galactica takes place 3000 years into the future and their description of the BG espisode "Experiment in Terra" reads "An earthbound astronaut discovers Galactica's logbook floating in space." TV guide also states that the original premise of Full House was that Jesse "cotsopolus" moved in with his widowed brother-in-law even though Jesse's original last name was "Cochran" and wasn't changed until the 2nd season. You cannot go by what TV guide says.

The descriptions you quote are based on assumptions made by the writer and cannot be taken as authoritative. Sherwood Schwartz himself stated that the matter of Carol's marital status was never clarified but if it had been then she would have been divorced.

If you know of some reference within the show that clarifies Carol as a widow then by all means cite episode title and the dialog.

[Jude The Obscure]

All Carol says in the pilot aka "The Honeymoon", is "a few years ago I thought it was the end of the world". Considering Sherwood's intentions, that could certainly reflect divorce. Notice that the girls never ever once mentioned their biological father and that they even took on the name of Brady. Boy, he must have been a real creep!!

Carol makes mention that the boys have been without a mother for a long time, but no one ever bothers to take in the consideration that the girls also were without a father.

[TJL]

Originally Posted by Jude86

All Carol says in the pilot aka "The Honeymoon", is "a few years ago I thought it was the end of the world". Considering Sherwood's intentions, that could certainly reflect divorce. Notice that the girls never ever once mentioned their biological father and that they even took on the name of Brady. Boy, he must have been a real creep!!

I would rather think of Carol as a widow than married to a guy who totally abandoned his three daughters.

[Waterston_Fan]

Originally Posted by TJL

I would rather think of Carol as a widow than married to a guy who totally abandoned his three daughters.

Yeah, same here... I think that's what happened... Carol's ex husband abandoned his three daughter..

That kind of thing may have happened back then but it sure happens nowadays.

[sixfingers]

Originally Posted by TJL

I would rather think of Carol as a widow than married to a guy who totally abandoned his three daughters.

There is a lot left unsaid on the show. It's possible that the girls did have occasional contact with their father but it just never came up. Shwartz probably left it vague so that he could some day, when the networks relented, clarify that Carol was divorced.

In the 5th season there were signs of things that might happened in the 6th season, things that would have been unthinkable in the first 4 seasons. In Kelly's Kids, for example, there was a toilet in the bathroom set that was partially visible in one scene. In My Brother's Keeper we hear the sound of a toilet flushing and we see Bobby taking a bath, with Carol sitting on the edge of the tub!

These incidents don't sound like much today, but they would have been unthinkable in the first 3 seasons and unlikely in the 4th season, although in the 4th season episode Law and Disorder we do see Bobby in his underwear, something you wouldn't have seen before.

Considering the loosening of standards that was occuring as the mid 70s approached it is quite possible that if it were not for the kids' demands and if Robert Reed hadn't walked off the set at the end of season five, we might have seen the clarification of carol's marital status in the never made 6th season.

[Ireneparalegal]

The girls wouldn't take on the name BRADY unless their father was dead or he gave permission for Mike to adopt the girls legally. I highly doubt Carol was divorced. Child support, child visitation...etc. Schwartz may have wanted her divorced but too many unanswered questions would come up eventually.

[Jude The Obscure]

Originally Posted by Ireneparalegal

The girls wouldn't take on the name BRADY unless their father was dead or he gave permission for Mike to adopt the girls legally. I highly doubt Carol was divorced. Child support, child visitation...etc. Schwartz may have wanted her divorced but too many unanswered questions would come up eventually.

what if he were "missing"?

[Ireneparalegal]

Originally Posted by Jude86

what if he were "missing"?

Carol's husband was missing?

If a spouse is missing, the other spouse would either need to file for divorce and state it was abandonment on her spouse's part or have him declared dead. It is a process but it isn't impossible.

[sixfingers]

Originally Posted by Ireneparalegal

The girls wouldn't take on the name BRADY unless their father was dead or he gave permission for Mike to adopt the girls legally. I highly doubt Carol was divorced. Child support, child visitation...etc. Schwartz may have wanted her divorced but too many unanswered questions would come up eventually.

They would have have come up only if they were relevent. Carol's marital status was left vague on purpose.

[Jude The Obscure]

Originally Posted by Ireneparalegal

Carol's husband was missing?

If a spouse is missing, the other spouse would either need to file for divorce and state it was abandonment on her spouse's part or have him declared dead. It is a process but it isn't impossible.

Well, that was Sherwood's take for "A Very Brady Sequel"

and a side note to sixfingers--love your avatar! I find myself laughing every time I see it!